Bored Robots 2: System Shock
by Arrastrago
Summary: Sequel to Bored Robots. Two years after the landing of the Axiom, things have begun to settle down on planet Earth. But when an explosion rocks a nearby town, MAGE, Wall-E, Eve, and MO are sent to investigate. And what they find is a real "system shock".
1. Keiko

"And that's the story." Mage muttered at the counter somewhat indifferent. She had rattled on and told the events that surrounded the return of the Axiom to planet Earth. It was strange, aside from telling the Captain and a few close others, she never had bothered to tell anyone about the events surrounding the Axiom's landing.

"You don't say..." The one who had listened to the teacher's relay of the story leaned over curiously and flexed their wings.

It had been awhile since Mage ever bothered to talk to anyone outside the "family", but the teacher found kinship in this new individual; a slender and pale woman with long locks of white hair, wearing a white metallic suit with tints of lavender. She had stood out immediately; Mage knew she must be an android of some build (although where she came from was a complete mystery) due to the fact that she was a stick compared to the still stocky humans. Seeing that Mage was done telling the story the android stood up and gave a nod.

"I need to head back now, we'll talk again some other time." the albino android said as she stood up, "I'm always traveling, I'll see you next time I'm here..." she trailed off before she leaned down to shake hands with the bird. "Mage wasn't it."

"Yes..." the bird replied, "and I'm afraid I never caught yours."

"Mine?" she paused for a moment, "It... It's Sigourn." she smiled.

"Sigourn eh?" Mage took the name in, "rather interesting.... well, same time, same place, same old watering hole?"

"Exactly."

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It has been approximately 2 years since the Axiom has landed. Things have been going smoothly I must say. Already the areas surrounding the landed ships have been showing signs of life and vegetation. Recollecting in my memory, it almost looks like the wild west of yore. Things are simple, as they should be, with each ship seeing over a town or city. Obviously the Axiom is the biggest of these cities. Aside from the robots and several other appliances taken from the ships, it also seems as if Earth has turned the clock back on technology. Fortunately for the humans, the land around the Axiom is very fertile from the ancient sea floor; kept shielded by the sun from the layer of sea salt and dirt that formed over it, only six inches into the ground and it seems to be ripe for growing. Also, since the National Forests were preserved, there are still safe patches of haven in an otherwise dusty landscape. We decided that our place of residence would be in a forest by the name of Yellow Stone. At least that was one thing that Buy and Large did right; it was maintaining these parks.

And now instead of Buy and Large, it is now "Aperture Science". That is, the three of us; GLaDOS, Chell, and I, using this clunky flying machine and doing routine maintenance on machinery that has broken down, such as water towers and the like. The repairs have been somewhat difficult to manage. Larger buildings have been left to Mother Nature, and many of these large edifices had been maintained by the large computer network that was once the second world of Earth. The internet that once was a life force of Earth has all but been erased, and trying to attain information from what service we could get was forcibly stopped by a program called "JD". As to what this JD program is, even GLaDOS is not sure, but it's a mystery best left unsolved. The real world is what needs tending to.

Speaking of the real world, it seems that a strange new creature has evolved and adapted to the land, they somewhat resemble large slugs, but are much quicker than their smaller brethren. They seem to be attracted to the towns we and the humans have built, although they prefer plains and forested areas as well. They're sometimes a hindrance, since the like to bounce atop electric lines and sap energy for their own purposes. For lack of better word, I guess I will document them as "Nulls". Sometimes we find them nearby the Aperture Marine; Chell wants to see if we can tame one for closer examination, although I think she wants one as a pet....

In other events, the hatching was a success, although unlike Otua, Auto has two eyes, with the exception that one is still like Otua's blue aperture eye, only his is red. He also seems to be better built, he's more human-like then her, and also has two hands. (We have yet to actually bother to see where he keeps his tazer, although since Otua broke it in the battle with him, it might not have even been registered in the hatching process.) He's seem to have done a complete turnaround in his personality since the eradication of A-113 from his system, although he is still the commanding and orderly type.

Speaking of pilots, Otua has been doing fine alongside her friends. It seems that after the Axiom landing, the quartet split and went their different ways. Last I remember Kirie and Sae had stayed in the Axiom city, what purpose I can't remember. Otua and Mage have been in contact off and on with Auto, bringing the average of two star liners a month back to planet Earth. Otua has been eager to receive new upgrades, since she's been around the technology of the latter BnL ships and feels out dated as a result. I know that GLaDOS plans on giving her the core updates that had originally given to her when she was first manufactured. Although I don't tell it to her face, I dread to see what an Otua with an obsession with fish would act.

And... Otua... I swear I've never seen GLaDOS cry (or at least attempt to) so much in my entire existence. It took us longer than planned to arrive back on Earth, much less find the blue protopilot, but we did. The fact that she was reunited with her family after almost a millennia, the initial shock of just seeing us almost brought Otua into an overload of emotions...

Well, color me blue, that sounds like the young protopilot right now....


	2. Auto

Otua adjusted her pilot's cap as she walked the remaining steps to the Aperture Marine. She could already see the blue form of Keiko giving a small wave to her as she walked into the cargo door. The two exchanged hugs and nods of the head; it being all they could do since Keiko's speech program had been destroyed shortly after the Aperture Trio's escape from planet Earth. The elder of the two androids lead the way into the ship; GLaDOS and Chell waiting in anticipation for this meeting.

When they arrived in the hallway Otua took off her hat and placed it upon a nearby counter, and looked to the ones who were more or less her mothers. There was a silence that spanned a few moments before the protopilot spoke.

"It's been two years since the landing, I know that, but..."

"We know why you're here," Chell interjected, "You've been helping the other Star Liners alongside Auto. You've been experiencing many things for the first time. And in doing so, you've seen how...." she trailed off, "For lack of better word, outdated you are to the other Autopilots." Chell had hit the nail of the head, for Otua gave a nervous nod and spoke again,

"I'm not saying that I don't feel grateful," Otua tried to pick the right words, "But you three supplemented me with upgrades.... I was wondering if there was some way if you could create another update for me."

"I think it's a fantastic idea!" GLaDOS said almost right as Otua finished her sentence, "It could be based on my own system, you know, with-"

"NO FISH" Chell shouted back as she cut off GLaDOS, "The fish shaped ship was already bad enough."

Otua backed away as the two started their usual odd couple fight that had become a tradition over the past few months. Keiko and Otua could only watch in awkward silence as Chell and GLaDOS continued their argument over what would in fact be a good update for the protopilot. It was only after Otua cleared her throat that the other two came to attention.

"As we have wasted an hour, and several sentences," the pilot broke the fourth wall, "I think the core updates are a good idea, although," she smiled sheepishly, "try to tone down on the fish alright mother?" at the last remark GLaDOS's eyes widened. Chell looked back between the two before giving out a sigh. It was game set and match against her in the argument.

"Alright then," She rubbed her temple, "But before we go ahead and do this, have you talked to any of the others? Sae and Mage for instance..."

"No..." Otua became a little anxious, "Sae and Kirie moved into Axiom City and since then I've been in contact off and on with them. And Mage just isn't the caring type unless it concerns her directly...." the way she trailed off hinted at something, a something that Chell caught onto.

"You don't want to worry them, especially after the last update you had on the Axiom," Chell stated, "But perhaps you should talk to them."

"And if not them, Auto," GLaDOS gave out a rare piece of good advice."Despite your less then satisfactory relationship, he has been extremely helpful as of late."

"You seem sure of that," Otua mulled over the two's advice. Looking over to Keiko, the mute android could only give a look of disdain and a shrug in response. "Well, if that's what you think..." the pilot took her hat from the counter and fitted it back on, "I will go speak with him."

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Despite not having passengers within the Axiom, Auto still had to maintain his beloved order. While humans had moved outside into the relentless environment, he was quite content to stay within the sterile walls and oversee robotic operations. McCrea had left as soon as the Axiom had touched down; actually becoming the "Mayor" of what was not dubbed Axiom City. The entire ship was now Auto's, although it was a somewhat empty win, he being in android form and the ship being grounded and all. Staying in the bridge, he reviewed the data for the output that day, everything unchanged as usual, (minus the few robots who were building new homes in the accompanying city) and there weren't any reports for star liners in the vicinity to deactivate the A-113 directive.

A-113, such a word was considered vile to him now. And the close shaves that he and Otua had experienced on their journeys to "cleanse" the other Autopilots only made it dawn upon him as to how blind he had really been ever since receiving the directive. Oddly enough, there had been a few pilots that were outside the system that had never received the A-113, but upon further investigation they had been tampered with and acting on their own accords; only waiting for when the Axiom traveled back to Earth. He tallied up the end results of two years of work. Seven battleships, twelve civilian carriers, two cargo ships, and an independent "pirate" ship that they had found on their third excursion; despite the rather impressive list, Auto knew there were many other ships still being held in A-113's grasp. There had been another ship as well that had strangely enough been undocumented, and it was by complete luck that they had stumbled upon it. But what they had found inside was a ghastly sight; the entire crew (even the Autopilot) and passenger count had been wiped out by someone or something, save for one small robot and a battered young woman. Not wanting to push their luck Auto and his sister rescued the two and left without investigating the rest of the cruise ship. Ever since then, they always had a second ship with them in case an event like that would happen again.

Trying to push the memory out of his system, he started to go down the list of the ship names brought back to Earth. But before he could even cross off one name, Auto heard the elevator ding.

Upon seeing his "sister" Auto set aside the progress report and gave a small salute to the protopilot. The cyan clad android held up her hand at the gesture.

"There's no need for formalities now Auto."

"What brings you here?" the alabaster android asked, "Did you and the Apertures find another ship?"

"It's not that.." Otua replied, "But, I was considering... getting another upgrade."

The younger one was unsure of how to respond to the statement, "It's been two years since your hatching, and only a year since my own. Are you sure you want updates given this new body of yours?" he paused, "I don't think either GLaDOS or Chell know exactly how that new form of yours operates. If something goes wrong during a new update it could be just like how it was back with...." he fell silent as he remembered the day on the bridge, they day where he had let Otua "die" at his hands while he stood cold and callous. "I don't think anyone wants that to happen again." he decided to say.

"You are right," this wasn't the first time she agreed with her brother, "But the thing is......"

"You and stubbornness go in the same pool of Autopilots and control. Too bad none of the other protopilots exist... or else we would know that for sure." Auto didn't realize what he had touched on before he let the words spill, he bit his lip. "I'm sorry Otua...."

"You don't need to be," the blue clad pilot answered, "But at least talking with someone outside of my creators somewhat made up my mind."

"This wasn't a talk," Auto tried to reason, "This is me trying to talk some sense into you about doing something that could be potential life threatening."

"The fact that you care enough after all that transpired here two years ago is enough for me to make a decision." was what he got as a reply. Otua turned to leave, although as she waited for the elevator to come back up she gave a parting sentence.

"Don't worry about me Auto, you've been taking care of yourself until now, if worst comes to worst.. you can take my place..."

The doors opened, two footsteps sounded, and then the doors closed, leaving the black and white autopilot alone again. He heard the whooshing of the elevator that signified that he was once again alone for the time being.

Well, not exactly...

"She's been acting somewhat off don't you think?" A woman walked out of the shadows; the same she-android that Mage had talked with only a few hours ago. She took a seat next to the autopilot. "And her temporary estrangement from Mage and the others, even the teacher doesn't seem to mention her as of late."

"So you think that Otua is wanting this upgrade due to her behaving differently? Or is it the other way around?" Auto didn't even acknowledge the fact that the other android had been in the room until now, although since the landing he was used to her coming and going as pleased.

"It is hard to infer right now," Sigourn answered, "although I think it would be wise for her to get the upgrade, hopefully that will solve the problem."

"I hope you're right." Auto felt anxious and uneasy when he was not sure about things. But Sigourn was right, the only true way to find out about Otua's sudden desire for upgrades would only be answered if she did obtain them. "What about the other person?" he tried to change the subject.

"Other person?"

"The.... "human"" Auto tried to find the right word, "and their small robotic companion that we had found in that destroyed star liner, the one where that horrible massacre had happened, how is the ..... human holding up?"

"Auto, she left McCrea's care shortly after you and Otua rescued her and her friend. Right now she might be traveling to other towns keeping the peace, like a local law enforcement."

"Already?" the pilot couldn't believe the news, "But she was on the verge of-"

"That's enough Auto," Sigourn interrupted, "If she wanted to leave, she wanted to. You can't amass your control over someones will to live now. Besides," the woman gave a shrug, "It's not like we're never going to see her again."

For a moment Auto was unsure if Sigourn was talking about Otua or the girl he had saved. Either way, he was worried.

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It was a metropolis; Seattle, the technology capitol of America. It was the year 2075, and the seaside city even dwarfed Silicon Valley in its extensive computer research. And a computer that had been countless and tirelessly worked upon for almost a century was about to wake up.

She opened her eye. Looking around the room curiously, she quickly began to relay data to her central core that functioned as her brain. Deciding to look down, she saw a small figure that she registered as a human being.

"Hello," she spoke without thinking, "Who are you?"

The person jotted down a few things onto a clip board before answering. "I am your overseer, I was sent to check on your newly grafted A.I."

"A.I.?" she knew the word was registered somewhere, although she already knew she wanted a quick answer.

"Artificial Intelligence," the person, whom she now recognized as a male, didn't bother to look up from his writings, "You were just a simple computer until recently; just maintaining the temperature of other machines and utility systems for this building, although we decided to outfit you with a superior chain of thought, that is, an actual thinking brain."

"Who is we?"

"Aperture Science," the man had stopped writing, "We had been working on your system for a long time, although you're asking questions right now, it will soon be your job to be answering them. You're going to be an overseer soon."

"I don't have to meticulously write away on little slips of paper do I?"

"No," the man was uncertain if the question was actual curiosity or sarcasm; her voice was lacking in feeling and couldn't be read well. "You'll be monitoring test chambers for all our new equipment. We'll be installing cameras throughout the entire building so you can see everything without the hindrance of moving."

She didn't know how exactly to reply to this. Upon thinking of even the basic idea of moving she began to walk forward, but ended up violently lifting herself up and clanging her head against the ceiling instead. She head the man beneath her give a shout, but she came to her senses and stared down attentively at the man,

"That's what I was trying to get at," he said somewhat with a strain, "You're not fit for moving, not now at least." he trailed off and jotted down a few more sentences. "Anyway, I need to leave, but myself and the others will come back to check on you tomorrow. You just relax and get situated." he managed a weak smile before leaving.

She was left to herself. Curious as to why she was unable to walk or even move correctly, she craned her neck to look around. She saw a large flat screen television bolted into the wall. She registered into her mind that she also had four screens bolted onto her body as well, although for what purpose she couldn't imagine. Bending the screen she saw to her will, she enabled it to display an image of herself.

She was a somewhat nightmarish mess of metal and cables, suspended haphazardly by a large central edifice. The eye she was using was at the bottom of what more or less her body, and glowed a vibrant yellow. She also saw different eyes on her body, blue, red, and orange spherical eyes stuck onto her at random intervals. Although what drew her attention the most was the word plastered on one of her discs that attached her to the ceiling. Right beneath the title "Aperture Science", she could make out an oddly capitalized word.

GLaDOS.


	3. Sae

Otua let her mind wander as she walked away from the bridge lobby. Even her brother had been apprehensive about the updates. But she could see where he was coming from; there was only one her, and the others would be very reluctant for her to do anything extremely risky. As she traversed the distance between the lido deck and the docking station, she decided to weigh in her family's outlook against her own decision. She had wanted to better herself to fit in, but yet her family and friends had all told her otherwise. Was she really being that selfish?

But the answer was never given; for Otua had walked right into a passing Burn-E and almost toppled over it. Quickly coming to her senses she apologized several times as she helped the robot regain its footing. Righting its leg peg back onto the track system of the Axiom, Otua gave a slight bow to the rather irritated welder and made tracks out of the ship. As the Burn-E stood there wondering why the human hadn't watched where it was going, he found himself in for an even bigger surprise.

He watched as the human stopped in mid-walk, before rubbing her teal gloved hand over brilliant red locks of hair. When she turned, he saw that it wasn't a human. Lacking a right eye completely, she had some strange patch over her left eye that gleamed with a sea blue. (Although he didn't know, all these colors showed up as blue to him) She came back to him and laughed slightly, "I'm sorry," he heard, "I forgot my cap." she picked something off the top of his head and placed it upon her head; he noticed it was the same sort of hat that his boss Auto and the human Captains wore; although hers had two feathers perched upon either side of the cap. She gave a weak smile and then walked off; her cable array swishing behind her like some sort of long mane of hair.

Freezing up with some unknown emotion, it took him a moment to come to his senses; the pretty android was gone. He then realized that in his stupor he had dropped his welding tools and the pack of lighter fluid on his back. Regaining his composure he reattached his tools to himself and looked out the door that led to the outside world. Who was that woman? He had never seen her before, and now that he was no longer grumpy from the initial bump he cursed himself for not speaking up. But now he was determined to find out more about her.... but why? Fueled on by some unknown source, he made his way up to the bridge; Auto would be sure of her name, he must be.

He wheeled up the pathway to the bridge. Little did he know that the task he was about to undertake would change his life forever.

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"You honestly think that children are going to take lessons from teachers now?" a familiar black disc spoke out from atop a book shelf. It looked down into the room with its single eye, scanning the shelves filled to the brim with trinkets and baubles from a 700 year beach combing expedition. A red and orange robot answered the question as it rummaged through some of the upturned belongings.

"Of course I am Kirie," Sae seemed confident, "We need actual teachers for the Earth generation. Who better to do it then myself and you?"

"What about Mage?" Kirie extended her legs and hopped down from her perch. "She doesn't care about education; she'd rather build up towns and the ecosystem."

"Well," Sae thought on how to respond, "She never did teach, what does she know?"

"You're not acting like yourself Sae," the hacker muttered as she stationed herself on the entryway to the truck, "haven't since we landed."

"Never you mind," the teacher folded her arms, "besides we were stationed here to watch Wall-E's home while he's gone."

"Remind me, why exactly is he gone?"

"He wanted to see more of the world; travel with Eve and such and such." Sae explained, "The little guy hitched a ride with the Apertures, for the season he and Eve are going to be with them in Yellow Stone... although I think they roomed with Mage in the settlement nearby, you know.." she felt winded, "Aperture Town."

"Meanwhile we're stuck out here near the dusty city," Kirie mumbled, "I don't see how this could possibly be any worse..."

It was at that moment that the author decided to be cruel and punish the two, for several tiny little GO-4's whisked up the ramp leading into the truck and begin to bounce all over them. Somewhat unsure of how to deal with the multitude of small bouncing "squiggly pens" they could only sit back as a larger GO-4 hovered in and watched at the bouncing mini versions of himself clamber over Sae and Kirie.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, "I told them we were going to the truck and they went crazy."

"Look what you did Kirie, you invoked the wrath of the author!" Sae accused.

"Sae!" Kirie snapped back, "You're breaking the fourth wall here!"

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She watched the sky with patience. The clouds were covering the evening sunset; the wind had been howling all the meanwhile. Her black coat fluttered in the wind; only to be blown with more force as she was alerted to a ship fly through overhead. Looking to the east she saw the approaching vessel, recognizing the markings immediately; it was the Cyan Marine. She stood silently as she watched the craft descend and land close to its stark white sister ship; the Aperture Marine.

She did not know what was going to happen, although her heightened senses alerted her to something approaching. It wasn't a physical being or anything; it was more like an event. But whether or not it was good or bad, she was unsure of. Although by how the weather had been acting, the girl knew that it was more or less some theatric foreshadow to either someone or something monumental.

She wondered if it had to do anything concerning Otua. Otua and Auto were the ones who had saved her life a year ago, but she had repaid them by running away and leaving her only fellow survivor in the Aperture Town...

She let her thoughts wander to that day of salvation.

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There was an area installed in which should have been the Lido Deck. Blood splattered it's walls; both the scarlet of humans and the silver life of robots. A lone figure stood in the middle, over the dead body of her previous opponent, her chest was heaving, her fists were clenched. She did not know that the audience who had been watching had left. She only had the thoughts of "kill or be killed" running rampant in her mind.

She didn't notice the other who walked up to her, nor someone else's retorts of them not getting closer. She only noticed with the cyan garbed pilot stopped a few feet away from her. The cyan pilot eyed the silent fighter; she was underweight. There were bruises upon her neck, her back, her face. And scars, most of which were hidden. She looked to be in her mid to late teens; possibly even older, and had long, knotted scarlet hair that matched the pilots red hued locks.

As the pilot kept her distance, the adrenaline faded from the teenager's body and she fell to her knees. The pilot approached her from behind, but refrained from touching her. There was a small audible click that sounded from the pilot's one eye, and then the teen heard the first non aggressive words in what seemed like a lifetime.

"What happened here?" there was calm to Otua's voice, "Please tell us.. we're not here to fight."

Upon hearing the protopilot's voice, she spun around and backed up rather clumsily until she fell. When she spoke, her voice cracked; it was parched from malnourishment and fighting. "Massacre...." she managed to get out.

Otua shielded her gun away from the survivor, thinking that weapons would only worsen the girl's already shell shocked mind. She knelt down next to the girl. "Are there any others?" she spoke slowly, "We can bring them and you back with us..."

"No..." there was a croaking answer. The girl stared back at the protopilot with awe, she eyed Otua with apprehension; her blue eyes rather reserved. After a few tense moments of silence, the girl spoke again with her haggard and cracked voice, "The ones.. did this... they left..."

Not knowing who "they" were, Otua decided to hold out he r good hand in a friendly gesture, "Then lets get out before they come back." but the pilot's attention was diverted, for she heard the small hum of a motor approach them. The familiar form of a MO appeared, wiggling its brusher. Although at the sight of the human, it held up its brush in the universal sign of surrender; it really meant no harm.

"Look," Otua tried to be reassuring, "Here's someone else, maybe there are more like him on the ship?"

"Doubtful," the girl said softly, "Killing was a sport here...." it was her first coherent sentence. The MO nodded in a negative manner. It had seen the slaughter of its brothers and the human passengers; it had been nothing more than a sport for their enigmatic occupiers.

"Then lets get you two out of here then," Otua re-extended her hand out, "we'll take you both back to Earth, they won't follow you there."

She hesitated, but anything would be better than the hell she had gone through here. So she took Otua's hand, shakily, but still.

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And now she watched as Otua descended from the Cyan Marine and walk to the ivory ship. She did not know why the protopilot had been frequenting the Apertures more often; but she viewed it as none of her business. She decided it would be better to go back to the town and check up on the MO that had been rescued along with her. With inhuman agility she ran down the side of the ledge of rock she had perched upon and sped through the forest.

Little did she know, she would be leaving what was soon to be a crime scene.

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"So, what are you going to do?"

"I've made up my mind. The four core units will be the update that I want."

"Morality, Intelligence, Curiosity, and rage shall all be enhanced. This will require a complete shut down and reboot for the updates to take effect."

"Mother, I'm an A.I., not a PC."

"It doesn't matter..... It's what's required...."

"Alright, I'll leave everything to you...."

Otua wouldn't wake up for quite some time....

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He puttered along the plains at a leisurely pace. Wall-E was in no rush to visit his friends; it was not that he didn't want to see old faces, but he wanted to take in the new sights and sounds. The trash compactor gave out a sigh as he continued his "walk". His seasonal house was in Aperture Town, rooming with Eve, Mage, and MO was a bit overwhelming, but he enjoyed their company alongside Hal. He heard his little cockroach chirp excitedly as the ivory ship came into view. He also noticed that a familiar blue ship was also parked nearby; his friend from the Axiom must've stopped by for a visit as well.

Wall-E picked up the pace. Knowing that the blue protopilot would perhaps still be with the others; he hadn't had time between his relaxation and garbage duties to give her proper (though simple) thanks. And she had been too busy teaming up with Auto and trying to eradicate A-113. The waste allocator let his mind mull over how the sky was slowly turning blue, and the dusty drab browns were once again becoming a tint of green.

What he wasn't planning on was the proud white ship going up in a plume of black smoke as an explosion punched right through the hull and sent debris flying.

He let out a quail of fright. But Wall-E pressed on at full throttle to see if he could help.

It was only the beginning of a much bigger problem...


	4. WallE

Earlier.....

GLaDOS had already put her "daughter" into sleep mode. Laying Otua upon a table that she was able to salvage within the ship, the Disc Operator began to work with Chell on the new updates for the protopilot. After she figured exactly how she was going to install the new programs, she began to carefully chisel around the luminescent operating core upon the pilot's chest. After the protecting armor was removed, Chell pulled what was more or less Otua's heart from her body. Checking for maladies or bugs; she noticed something that was very peculiar.

"GLaDOS", the orange clad android spoke up to get her attention, "Look at this..." she turned the core in place. What was on the once non-visible side was a beautiful array of green and black lines; they almost resembled veins and arteries in a way. In curiosity GLaDOS let her fingers gently touch the strange markings, but there was no reaction. They didn't even protrude from the core; it was more as if they were part of Otua's core all along; painted on.

"What are we going to do about this?" Chell was obviously worried, even though it hadn't reacted to touch, the markings still looked malignant. "Perhaps this has to do with her sudden desire to be upgraded?"

"We can't worry about that now," GLaDOS said hastily, "Even in sleep mode, the longer the core is kept out of her body, the more trouble it will be to awake her...." she took the blue orb from her partner's hands and begin to tinker with it. In several minutes the lavender tinted android had carefully dissected the outer skin of the core. Then GLaDOS reached behind her own neck and imputed several keys into the buttons concealed beneath her fabricated skin.

The elder android took something out of her own neck; it was a small component that housed her four core modules that enhanced her very own A.I.. Taking the container, she gently pressed it into the central edifice of the blue core. Almost at once, four colors; purple, orange, blue, and red, flowed out of the component and seeped into the core. In seconds the vibrant colors faded and the light blue became prominent once more.

"That was it?" Chell expected more from GLaDOS, especially after the huge deal Otua had made earlier.

"It would have to be simple," remarked GLaDOS, "If it would take any longer, it would be too dangerous." with haste she replanted the small container into her neck and closed the outer shell of Otua's core. She gently placed it in her daughters chest cavity, taking care to properly hook the precious sphere back into its host. She sealed the rest of the components around Otua's "heart" and rebooted the protopilot's system. There was a hiss and a familiar start up noise, the aperture that covered Otua's single eye opened slowly.

GLaDOS immediately knew that something was wrong.

What should have been a soft blue glow emitting from the eye was a silver hue. Otua groaned as she attempted to stand up. She faced both GLaDOS and Chell, the look on the pilot's face being hard to read, but when she spoke, it was a much harsher tone then Otua would have ever used.

"GLaDOS, I would like to thank you for being the idiot you always have been...."

"Otua!" Chell snapped back at the red head, "Is that how you're going to thank her?! GLaDOS!" she turned to her partner, but the Genetic Life form had frozen up. The older android's eyes flickered to shades of purple and she backed away from the wakened protopilot.

"G-get back.... don't come near me...." her voice became seeped with fright and panic; it was as if GLaDOS had just seen a ghost, or even worse.

"Oh I won't trouble with you again," Otua said boastfully as she leered at the panicked android, "You already ran my patience and amusement dry those 700 years ago, I don't need to depend on you for anything now..." she raised her arm cannon and aimed it directly at the floor beneath her. "Now, if you excuse me, I think I need to have other business to attend to."

"Oh no you don't!" Chell also had the same realization that GLaDOS had dawned upon her. " Not this time!"

What followed next was pandemonium. Chell went to restrain Otua, but as she did so GLaDOS rushed up to keep her attacking the protopilot.. And just then, Otua set off her gun point blank on the table she had been resting on up until that moment. A tremendous burst of heat billowed from the weapon; and in turn the blast ignited several components inside the lab and set off a chain reaction. A tremendous fire burst forth from the computers and equipment that surrounded the trio.

GLaDOS and Chell, had they been human, would have been killed on spot. But due to their robotic nature they were spared; albeit badly singed and blasted. Keiko only had the time to turn around as she was in the main hallway before the explosion got to her. The being masquerading under the guise of Otua jumped into the air as the explosion rattled the rest of the broken ship. But she did not touch ground; the updates and modifications giving her the ability to hover, the maverick protopilot took to the sky and left the ruins in her wake.

There was only one thing on her mind right now.

To devour as much data as she could; GLaDOS and Chell were beneath her. Remembering what had happened at Aperture Science, a rage began to burn within her. Fueled by her anger and new directive, she was going to become what she had set out to do; the drive within her that was dormant for over 700 years.

To become a God.

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Wall-E shifted his threads into high gear and got to the remains of the Aperture Marine in seconds. He nervously edged his way towards the "entrance"; but in actuality, it was the hole that had been created in the explosion. Peeking in, he could see two figures strewn about the floor. Inching closer, he recognized them as GLaDOS and Chell, nudging them; he became scared when there was no response from either android. The little garbage compactor began to panic; what if whatever had caused the explosion was still around?

His panic turned to something else; a noise rang out from the room next door. Wheeling in, Wall-E saw Keiko trying to struggle to her feet. Not knowing how to ask the correct question in the situation, Wall-E began babbling in robotic to the blue clad android. He even attempted to help her stand, but the wounds from the blast prevented her from doing so. Wall-E could see that her funny glasses can been cracked; and her eyes seemed to be filled with static interference.

Instead of trying to stand up, Keiko grabbed a hold of Wall-E's hand tightly. Despite the smoke and fire, Wall-E was suddenly overcome with a small sense of peace as a message was given to him.

"Find Mage" was the two words that rang through his mind. Even though he himself was not a master of the English language, Wall-E was able to easily understand it. He gave a reassuring nod as the blue robot lost consciousness. Letting go of her hand, Wall-E did and about face and rushed out of the wreckage.

He had a job to do.

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Several months had passed by. Newer drives were outfitted, memory cards attached, she was receiving upgrades almost every week in preparation for the coming tests. She wasn't exactly sure how they tests would be carried out, but GLaDOS was told by the scientists that entered her room was that she'd only be monitoring; no tests would be done herself. The computer mulled over how drab and boring it all sounded. Was she going to remain in the same room for the rest of her existence monitoring everything?

As she started to feel inner conflicts, she heard someone shout out a greeting to her.

"Hey! GLaDOS! Hope you're doing fine this bright and early in the morning!" The person speaking was female; but the voice betrayed a young age. Looking down from her suspended height, GLaDOS saw a girl who could be no more than ten years old. "Today's going to be the first day of testing, are you ready?"

"Yes Dr. Hakubi," the computer answered with a monotone voice, "I am ready to begin the testing process."

"Wrong!" she took out a small paper fan and hit her upside her "head". Despite the fact that she was made of metal, and the impact didn't even hurt, GLaDOS became more than a little annoyed. "I am not going to tolerate such a dead beat attitude when it comes to science!" the girl continued.

"Yes Dr. Hakubi." GLaDOS repeated. The sooner the girl would leave the better. This was only her third time meeting with the prodigy in her lifetime, but already she had developed a short fuse with the eccentric scientist. It didn't help either that GLaDOS had engraved into her memory that the petite girl before her had also played an important role in her construction.

"That's more like it." The girl smiled up at the machine; it was hard to tell if she was ignorant, or just being sarcastic. Either way, GLaDOS knew she had to bend to her creators will. Despite not being a human she detested the way how the child was always so happy all the time. It sickened the computer to see how she skipped about the room; her giant mane of hot pink hair sticking out in all directions. GLaDOS decided to label her creator as an anomaly herself. Although she never disclosed this to the Doctor, that would be foolish. "Now," the doctor brought GLaDOS back to reality, "Your first task will be to oversee the testing of this item."

The scientist pointed to one of the flat screens in the room. An image of a white gun with black prongs was projected onto it. It began to rotate in a 3D turn around.

"This is an Inter Dimensional Tunnel device," Dr, Hakubi explained to GLaDOS, "It can create portals that can link two areas together safely and efficiently."

"Really?" GLaDOS was for once looking forward to something.

"Well...." the girl laughed sheepishly, "We're not too sure about the "safe" part, so that's why we're going to conduct the tests." she pointed back to the screen; there was now a video that looped of the gun shooting blue and orange bullets that was playing on the screen. "Your job is to log reports on test subjects use of the gun. Success rate, sickness, ratio of portal doors, and fatalities are just a few of the things you'll be keeping track of." she said this as casually as one would make a list for a trip to the store.

"That's it?"

"Pretty much," the girl said with a hint of dismay. As the screen was turned off, she motioned a hand up to GLaDOS. "Just remember; be nice to all the test subjects; they're human beings after all, we don't want them getting finicky with a snobbish computer."

"Same goes for you." GLaDOS thought to herself. She watched as her creator began to walk out of the room, but before she reached the door, she turned around and called out to the hanging computer.

"One more thing GLaDOS."

"Yes?"

"The Aperture Bigwigs are being so conceited; they're calling my invention by a different name. As long as you are addressing test subjects and personnel other then myself, you are to call it that Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Got that?"

"Yes Dr."

"That's my girl."

GLaDOS didn't even bother to watch as the child left. Back in her precious silence, the computer started to get ready for the tests that she would soon be monitoring. The "Handheld Portal Device?" what on Earth would people want something so trivial? If it were up to her, she would be developing a way to get rid of the tremendous amounts of garbage that had been piling up in the past decades. But it wasn't her choice; she had to do what was given to her as her directive.

But meanwhile, a grander experiment was being done. Dr. Hakubi had waited until she made sure that the hallway was deserted before dialing upon her cell phone. A few tense moments went by as the phone rang, but soon, to her relief, it was answered.

"Is that you sister?" a hollow voice sounded over the phone.

"Yes it's me," the girl answered, "I just told GLaDOS about the ASHPD."

"ASHPD?" there was a stifled laugh, "That little toy you made?"

"This is not the time for jokes," Hakubi hissed back into the phone, "I'm going to have to stage my disappearance soon, I trust you will cover for me once that happens."

"Wait a minute, you..."

"No, you lost the bet, and you said you would stay and monitor everything once my job was done here..." Hakubi stifled a laugh of her own, "Is that too much to handle, "Mage", or do you still want me to call you "sister"?"

She was answered by being hung up on; the dial tone sound flooded her ear before she snapped her cell phone shut.

"I'm glad she took it well...." Hakubi said out loud through gritted teeth.


	5. MAGE

"Excuse me?" Auto looked down at the Burn-E who'd come into the bridge unannounced. The welder robot seemed very excited over something, for he was squeaking and chirping inconsistently. It took a total of ten minutes for the autopilot to subdue the other robot and calm him down. "For the love of the manufacturer! Speak with words!" as much as he hated to admit it, Auto had lost some of his ability to understand and speak robotic; spoken languages were being easier to use in his android form.

"Blue!" the Burn-E managed to spit out broken English in his frustration, "look like you!"

"Blue?" Auto was puzzled by the choppy sentence, although Sigourn who had been listening to the exchange of words and beeps corrected the alabaster android.

"He probably means Otua." she explained, "This Burn-E's most likely looking for her."

"Otua?" the Burn-E inquired. He at once stopped his pestering and flailing; only looking at the other android in anticipation for an answer.

"Y-yes," even Sigourn was somewhat surprised that her assumption had been right, "She is the pilot of the Cyan Marine, it's located about several states away though.... you might-"

The Burn-E didn't allow time for an explanation; as soon as he got the answer he wanted, he wheeled out of the room and left via the elevator. Auto felt the frustration rising in him; even the robots were starting to think outside of his influence.

"Don't let it get to you," he heard Sigourn's words of reasoning bring him out of his temporary rut. "I'm sure as soon as he sees that he needs to head out of the Axiom he'll come back."

But her assumption was incorrect; seeing the severing between himself and the land before him, the Burn-E looked out onto the dusty plains from inside the Axiom. Outside of his misadventure with the escape pod, he had never intentionally gone outside. Due to the time difference between him and his destination; it was still somewhat lit outside. Daringly he took a hop forward; hopping out of the track system, and one step closer to the woman he wanted to find. Even if it took him days, he was determined to find Otua and the Cyan Marine, whatever the latter of the two were.

As he started to bound forward away from the Axiom, Burn-E could only wonder how far he would go to chase her down. He had to find her no matter what the cost. He was set on his goal, and nothing would stop him from reaching it.

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Night was soon cast upon the land. MO and Eve were resting in the small home that Mage had built for herself. As MO watched a small patch of firewood burn to its last remaining cinders, he chirped a small question to Eve. The probe listened; the little cleaner was worried about Wall-E's absence. He wasn't the only one; eve was obviously concerned as well. Wall-E should have returned almost an hour ago. But before she could go outside to look their worries were sated; Wall-E burst through the door waving his arms about and "shouting" about something bad that had happened.

Instead of happily greeting him however, the two had mixed reactions; Eve rushed to her boyfriend and hugged him, although MO growled and readied his scrubber. It was obvious as to why; Wall-E was covered from head to thread in soot and ash. As the cleaner bot started to scrape the grunge off the garbage compactor, Wall-E began babbling incoherently again. Despite it being a series of squeaks, clangs, and other robotic noises, Eve was able to understand him. Well, at least half of what he was saying, the white probe tried to ease his fits of panic, and at last Wall-E was able to blurt out the first intelligible human words.

"Find Mage!" He shouted.

"Mage?" Eve inquired, wondering why he needed to see the ex-teacher.

"HEY EVERYONE!" There was another slam as the door was once again thrown open, the familiar petite form of Mage rolled in. "I brought pogs! How about we play a game?"

There was an awkward silence as the three other robots stopped what they were doing and all looked quizzically at the little bird robot. She returned a puzzled look of her own.

"What? You'd rather play checkers?" she remarked. But then she noticed how mussed up Wall-E was. At once she knew something was up. Dropping the pogs, she wheeled over and asked about what happened. Now that the one in question was back, Wall-E began to retell his misadventure of what had transpired back at the Aperture Marine; the explosion, the unconscious forms of Chell and GLaDOS, and the message left by Keiko before she too passed out. Now that he finally had told his story, Eve and MO had settled down, although the latter still continued to scrub off the ash from the Waste Allocator. Mage was the first to initiate a plan.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" the bird snapped as she grabbed a hold of MO (who chattered angrily since his "job" was not done), "Lets haul over there! The longer we muck about here the more trouble those three are going to be in!" and with that she dragged MO out of the house once more. Despite her gusto for wanting to help the Aperture Trio, both Eve and Wall-E stayed put for a moment; usually Mage was very conceited and only cared about herself. Why was she so eager to go and help them now?

But that was not the matter at hand to worry about; they had to go back and help. Eve took hold of Wall-E and also followed the bird.

They weren't sure what they were going to get themselves into, but they were all braced for the worst.

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She skidded to a stop; despite being far away from the Aperture Marine, her ears had picked up the resonating sounds of the explosion. Turning back, she took a glance up to the already star dotted sky.

Something was flying across the sky at an alarming speed. She was unable to tell if it was a ship or something else; but there was a brilliant shower of green and gray sparks that fell from the thing as it raced across the sky. She heard the roaming nulls squeak out in fright and take refuge underneath rocks or nearby foliage. As the sparks touched ground, they emitted several billowing puffs of flame. Oddly enough, the little flames that touched down in the forest did not start up a fire; but she knew that something was up.

With inhuman speed she followed the mysterious beacon. But as she raced across the plain, she was alerted to the sound of something breaking.

The flames that she had been using as means of tracking the shape were dying, but as they did, they unveiled something; rather large egg shaped objects that began to crack open as soon as the last of the flames surrounding them had been snuffed out. Soon the night was riddled with the cries and screeches of monsters as they emerged from their casings. They were all deformed and indescribable; their flesh and claws malformed and nightmarish. There were nothing like the Earth had ever seen, yet they were strangely animalistic.

She stopped and foolishly gasped; alerting some of the monsters to her presence. The shambling monstrosities turned to in her direction and outstretched their arms; attempting to swipe at her. But she was ready to fight back. In seconds she had the first of the monsters sprawled out on the ground. Two more of the beasts gave out cries of frustration for their prey was not as easy as they hoped it'd be. The girl grabbed one of the charging monsters and used its momentum to hurl it at another one behind her. There was a muffled mix of grunts and hollers from the shapeless beasts as they tumbled into one another and also bit the dust.

The fighter was somewhat taken aback at how easy these things could be taken out. But she guessed it was due to the fact they were recently hatched that they were so bumbling and fragile. But she felt no pity for these monsters. She had lived her life fighting, and that was how she would continue to live until the day she drew her last breath.

The battle was over in a matter of minutes; the girl standing in the middle of the field around the dead bodies of her adversaries. She hated using what instincts she had; it reminded her of what happened before Otua and Auto had rescued her. But she had to rely on what she despised to survive. As she felt her heart rate go down, she become once more aware to her surroundings.

She heard the faint humming of motors.

Not wanting to be discovered at the scene of the bizarre battle, she made tracks into the forest; away from where the mechanical sounds were coming from. Despite running from the aftermath, she had a goal now; she was determined to find that thing at all costs.

She wasn't the only one.... in a manner of speaking.

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Otua, or to put it bluntly, something that appeared to be Otua, mulled over her newly given freedom. As she flew she took in all the new sensations given to her after 700 plus years of her purgatory, she felt a deep anger rise within her that was only further amplified by the anger core recently given to Otua. The fact she had to lodge herself into Otua's core was a hassle enough, but standing by while Otua did the living for her was what angered her the most; living as GLaDOS's technical "daughter" for these past centuries. It burned her up inside. But it did not matter now. What she needed to do was familiarize herself with this new Earth. Despite the so called "rejuvenation" this planet was undergoing, it still was a miserable ball of dirt. She could have done much better.

But no, they did not turn to her, they had put faith in GLaDOS, and that is what angered her the most. But she did not let anger get the best of her back then, quite contrary.

She decided to ruin GLaDOS's life back then by all means possible.

Her fragmented and emotionally driven mind reminisced about that day.

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GLaDOS was more or less bored out of her mind. The way Dr. Hakubi had ranted about the importance of watching over test subjects sounded interesting enough, but this was nothing like what she expected. She watched from one of her many camera eyes as a woman with tanned skin and pulled back hair completed Test Chamber 10 with the Hand-held Portal Device. Aside from several burns and knicks on her orange jump suit, the woman was unharmed.

"You're doing -very- well." GLaDOS said with her voice drenched in bored tones. The woman in the test chamber paused for a moment before looking up at the camera she was closest to. To GLaDOS's surprise, she used her free hand to give the computer a thumbs up. Was she actually responding to her? GLaDOS was humbled; more or less, almost all her "Guinea Pigs" passed off GLaDOS's voice as some pre-recorded track of sentences that would play depending on how they had done within the tests. The simple act that someone had acknowledged what she had said made the Disc Operator feel a spark of giddiness within her.

Her attention towards the test subject was derailed however when she heard the doors to her own room slide open. Turning over to see who it was, the computer was surprised to see that it was not Dr. Hakubi or any other scientists she knew. It was a woman, perhaps in her late twenties. She had bottle green eyes, long black hair that went down to her waist, and her skin was tanned to the point of making her look Hispanic or even African. She was wearing the same coats that the other scientists had, and she also had a clip board with her. Peering over her glasses she spoke in a very firm and almost commanding voice.

"The higher ups at Aperture sent me to talk with you GLaDOS."

"Is something wrong?" The computer lowered herself slightly from the ceiling to get a better look at the woman, "Where is the Doctor?"

"Doctor Hakubi is out at the moment," not bothering to look up at GLaDOS, she wrote something on the board, "On vacation leave, I was sent in her place to oversee your operations while you cater to the test subjects.

GLaDOS felt suspicious; the Doctor would never leave unannounced, who was this woman? She felt the three cores that were attached to her body tighten onto her metal frame as she decided to be the one to ask questions.

"I received no such message from the Doctor." she tried to match the other woman's tone of authority, "What is your name?"

"You're just as snappish as the Dr. Hakubi said you were," she stifled a laugh, "But if you want to know, my name is Shodra, Shodra Andrews."

Acsessing her memory, GLaDOS decided to verify that this woman was telling the truth. To her dismay, it showed that Shodra had been employed at Aperture Science for the past five years after being employed at Black Mesa.

"Alright," the computer felt somewhat embarrassed at her accusation of being lied to. What she heard in response was a twitter of a laugh. Looking back to the scientist she saw that she was giggling to herself. "What's so funny?" GLaDOS was getting flustered, one minute this woman was formal, and the next she was a giggling school girl.

"You're cute," Shodra said as she covered the lower half of her face with the clip board; most likely hiding a giant smile. "You're just as the Doctor said you were."

"For your information," GLaDOS interjected, "I was not programmed or designed to be "cute" as you put it. I am here to fulfill what needs to be done for the company."

"Computers are always so shallow," Shodra said lightly, "But I guess it can't be helped."

The next few hours were spent checking over GLaDOS's command drives; making sure her vision and logic were unclouded, that her vocal patterns and emitters were functioning correctly, not to mention maintaining her countless cameras that were being connected wirelessly. Shodra even got her hands dirty by cleaning out the hydraulic unit that was behind what GLaDOS dubbed her "head". She felt the coolant pour out of her system as the scientist fixed the valves within her.

"Hakubi is a scatterbrain." Shodra remarked with a hint of frustration, "the components connecting your central processing unit to the rest of your body were hanging by a thread as it was." she finished adjusting the cables that protruded out of GLaDOS and smiled lightly, GLaDOS turned her monstrous form up at looked at the woman with her single yellow eye. What she said next even caught her by surprise.

"Thank you." she managed to spit out. Despite the woman taking charge of almost all the situations, she felt some kind of kinship with Shodra; almost as if she were a computer herself.

"It's no trouble at all," she smiled once more and kissed the outer hull of GLaDOS before walking down the small flight of stairs that surrounded the computer. Before she left, Shodra turned back to face the Genetic Life-form. "I'll be seeing you next week." and with that she left.

GLaDOS was for once, at a loss for words. It wasn't the same feeling that she had when she dealt with the simpletons in the lab coats or when Dr. Hakubi hit her on the head with a fan, no, this was not frustration she felt.

She was positively smitten.


End file.
